Spotlight on Equatorial Guinea
While it is in the name, the equator does not pass through the country; in fact, the nation is positioned north of the equator.
Equatorial Guinea, considered the smallest African country in the United Nations, is a land that resides on Central African coast between Gabon and Cameroon. The 28,051 km² (fix) landmass contains within its borders diverse landscapes ranging from swamps and plains to hills and rainforests in addition to a 2,017 km² offshore volcanic island of Bioko which holds three inactive volcanoes and has a developed harbor. Other landmasses include the Rio Muni and Annobon islands. Equatorial Guinea has a dense mainland rainforest with over 140 plant species, rich in animal diversity with leopards, bushbaby’s, jumping spiders in addition to rare species of frogs and fish. One can also locate many animals along the major Uola river, which snakes through the center of the country. Only 10 African nations have less than one million people, Equatorial Guinea being one of them with about 850,000 citizens. With this number however, it is thought that about 1.2 million people reside there due to refugees and unstable governments usually reporting inaccurate census data.
With a population of about 800,000 people, over 80% being of the Fang ethnic group and the second largest at 6% being Bubi. Spanish is the official language with about 65% of the population speaking it and the rest being split between Fang, Bubi, Protuguese and French. The country is mostly Christian and Roman Catholic with Islamic and indigenous religions being the next largest. About 65% of the nation can speak spanish, as it is used more frequently by the public administrations and educational sectors, which makes Equatorial Guinea the only African country with Spanish as an official language. Portuguese, Creole and Ibo are also official languages. Pan African dance music styles such as Soukous and Makkosa are popular in addition to music that incorporates bow harps, drums and xylophones. The nations’ Spanish influence has made acoustic guitar based music very popular.
The cuisine of the nation is best described as a mix of the indigenous West African tribes with Spanish influence due to its history of colonization. Rice, cassava, chicken, plantain, and fish are staples of the diet and can be found in dishes such as albondigas de sardinas and hot curried okra. Tropical fruits such as banana, pineapple and mango are commonly eaten.Even though cocoa is the county’s biggest historical export, people would be more likely to have Osang tea, palm wine or malamba, a sugar cane alcohol.
STATE OF AFFAIRS
Equatorial Guinea is one of the richest African countries mainly through its exports in oil resulting in a GDP of $31.52 billion with $37,400 per capita. It is the third largest exporter in Africa of petroleum, enabling the nation to maintain billions of positive trade balance. Even with such massive potential wealth, it is not evenly distributed among its population which in turn disparages the population. Preindependence, the country has relied on its cocoa exports but the shift to exploiting its own oil and gas deposits have shifted the economy away from a predominantly agricultural growth (with now only having 3% of total GDP being circulated in it). With having about 60% of the population under the age of 25, has yieldied issues with limited non-oil related job availability, opportunities for teaching skilled labor, and low rates of school retention and literacy rates have made it more likely for there to be future economic inequalities and high unemployment rates. Being Africa’s fifth largest oil exporter in 2018, a significant decline in global oil prices in the past decade has led to a significant loss of revenue for the country, subsequently affecting infrastructure development and the standard of living for the population.
Unfortunately the country is internationally considered to be an African nation with the most instances of human rights violations. Human trafficking is one of the biggest social issues as many women and children are forced into labor and are sexually exploited (find a way to reword). Corruption also found its way into its detention system as prisoners are horribly mistreated, tortured and are killed without an explanation. Based on the Freedom in the World survey, which factors in nations’ political and civil rights, Equatorial New Guinea is ranked as the least free nation. The nation has restricted the freedom of non government organizations through its laws, which highlights the government’s lack of intent to stop the violations and limit freedoms. Many activists face the death treatment. Organizations such as Amnesty International fighting against the human rights abuses.
Teodoro Obiang has been the President of Equatorial New Guinea since 1979, in charge of the state and takes the seat as the head of government. President Teodoro is Africa’s longest serving leader and the world’s longest serving non-royal head who has been in power for over four decades. The government is a presidential republic with the largest political parties are the Citizens for Innovation and the next biggest is the Convergence Party for Social Democracy. Many humans rights organizations view his presidency as a dictatorship with many organizations attempting to expose the fraudulent elections and trying more than 12 times to overthrow him and his son, who has held the position of Vice President for years. There was a military coup in 1979 led by Obiang’s forces on the platform of government transparency when in power. Unfortunately the human rights abuses did not immediately get addressed. The nation became a democracy in 1982 but it is still thought to be despotic. While the nation has a multiparty system every seat in the government is held by the Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea and the other party, Convergence for Social Democracy, holds only one seat each in both the Senate and Chamber of Deputies.
The country gained independence after 190 years of Spanish occupation in 1968.The people called for a government with a General Assembly and a Supreme Court that had Presidentially appointed judges. From liberation to 1979, President Francisco Macias Nguema ruled as the nation’s first president. Thought by many to have led the country into further socioeconomic and geopolitical turmoil, his nephew Teodoro Obiang staged a coup and seceded his position. The nation had become a constitutional democracy in 1991 but through a flawed and corrupt election system that has allowed for those in power to place legal barriers for political opposition, Obiang has been able to remain the President for four decades.
CALL TO ACTION
The consequences of political strife can be felt at every level of the sociopolitical structure of Equatorial Guinea. In 2011 there was a constitutional amendment that limited presidents to two seven year terms but goes into effect when Obiang is out of office. The government’s mishandling of the nation’s resources has to more economic instability and resulted in many of its leaders, such as the Vice President, on trial for corruption. Many of the nation’s citizens live in poverty and are forced to deal with human rights violations. The people of Equatorial Guinea need direct aid in its development. International powers need to pressure Obiang and his administration to adopt more genuine political practice. The systemic issues that are plaguing the nation can be resolved requires a combined effort across multiple fronts to address the nation’s most pressing dilemma. Assistance does not have to be in a monetary form as you could sign a petition, volunteer with an organization or donate supplies.
For more information as to how you can aid those in Equatorial Guinea please visit:
